


All Together Now

by Mackintosh14



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Anal Sex, Dirty Talk, Love Triangles, Multi, Oral Sex, Pining, Polyamory, Threesome, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-09 12:46:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12888177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mackintosh14/pseuds/Mackintosh14
Summary: Sometimes, we get what we deserve. And sometimes, that isn't a bad thing.In which Frank finally gets a sandwich, as well as some goddamn love and acceptance. Not to mention a whole lot of human contact . . . if you catch my drift.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, y'all.
> 
> I don't know why this came to me, exactly. I've been having thoughts about polyamorous relationships, and I've been having a million more about The Punisher and how incredible the storytelling and the writing for the characters is. The whole show is so much better than what I had expected, and I fell in love with these three along the way. I think that's when I thought: what if they all fell in love with each other?
> 
> You have to admit, the themes of mimicry/mirroring and voyeurism (despite it being non-sexual in nature) were pretty poignant. It was only a matter of time before someone decided to bring sex into their weird equation.
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy.

It had been three months since Thanksgiving, and the Liebermans had still not seen heads or tails of Frank Castle.

The world had stopped talking about the Punisher. They'd all moved on to other things. There were always tales of new heroes and villains stalking the streets of New York City. The news was constantly focusing on the exploits of the brand new kinds of crime hitting its citizens. People with super-strength and telekinesis and all sorts of wild and unexplainable abilities made the ex-Marine vigilante look almost tame in comparison.

And as for the Liebermans, they simply hoped that Frank had found a new life somewhere. He deserved that. He should get an after, even if it wasn't necessarily the 'happily ever' type.

Sometimes, they would speak of 'Pete' fondly. David would be talking with Sarah about the times he thought he would go stir-crazy in that little basement, and then Frank would come charging in, shouting about how David had left his shit everywhere. He would laugh and say that fighting with him had kept him sane. It had made him feel a little more normal. And Sarah would hear Zach and Leo talking to each other about how cool he was, and wondering if he was still 'beating up bad guys' wherever he was.

And even though they missed him, they hoped he stayed away. They hoped he was happy enough in his new life that he never came back to the city where everything had been taken from him.

If part of them also hoped that they would see him again one day, though, they didn't admit it. Not to themselves, and certainly not to each other.

But then, out of the blue one night, someone knocked at their door.

#

David and Sarah had been making out on the couch. The kids were at their grandparents' house for the weekend, and _Pretty Woman_ played in the background. One glass of wine was on the coffee table in front of David. It was nearly empty. The other was on the floor by his feet, Sarah's lipstick print at the top. One empty bottle of rose sat beside its half-empty counterpart.

Sarah was sitting astride David's lap, her long, slim fingers tugging at his brown curls. David grunted and shifted beneath her to pull her own lap flush against his. She moaned quietly into his mouth and rutted forward. His eyes were squeezed shut and his hands were buried underneath her shirt, fiddling desperately with her bra clasp. It came undone and he slipped one hand around his wife's side and up to her breast to play with one of her nipples. She chuckled and arched her back appreciatively. His other hand scraped down her back and she almost lost herself to his touch.

He grinned, proud of his sometimes-baffling ability to turn on this beautiful woman. She bit her lip and caught his gaze, and he felt a stab of pleasure at the look of her lust-blown pupils and the heavy blush in her cheeks.

Just as he lifted the corner of her shirt up and over her stomach, catching a glimpse of her warm, soft flesh, they heard the knock.

They stilled, and David was certain the disappointment he saw in Sarah's eyes was mirrored in his own.

"Really?" she groaned.

He laughed. "I'm sure it's nothing. I'll answer it. You . . . you stay right here. Just like that."

He took one more look at her and kissed her hard on the mouth before she moved off him and he got up to answer the door.

"Wait, honey," Sarah said, and looked pointedly at his crotch.

He looked down and saw the massive bulge. He snorted.

"Ah, shit." But it wasn't as though Sarah could answer the door. She'd had twice as much wine as him, her bra was undone, and her lipstick was smudged.

Shrugging, he opened the door just a crack to see who it was. And because this was New York, he didn't take the chain off the door either. It looked more natural that way anyways, and less like he was trying to hide his boner.

When he saw who it was, though, he didn't say anything but closed the door as quickly as he could and undid the chain before opening it back up.

He had imagined Frank showing up. He had run it through his mind at least two dozen times. Sometimes he'd pictured it going down in a typical action movie-esque fashion, with Frank appearing in the kitchen and scaring the shit out of them. He would be bruised and bleeding, with nowhere else to go. He would be too proud to verbally ask them for help, but they would give it him. Other times, he imagined Frank calling them from a burner phone, telling them he's outside and he needs David's hacker experise to make the problem disappear. But he never imagined it like this.

Frank Castle was standing on their front porch, wearing a hoodie, a black canvas coat, and jeans. He looked well, or well enough for him. There was a cut on his chin that was almost healed, but that was it. He wasn't dressed to kill, or even fight. He looked . . . normal.

"Can I come in?" Frank asked. His voice had the same low, raspy, underused tone that David remembered all too well. But this time, it sounded unsure.

David rushed forward and wrapped his arms around the bigger man. His boner had guttered and died the moment he saw who was at his door. Sarah was at the door then too, and she followed suit and threw her arms around the both of them. None of them spoke for almost a minute. Then Frank shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't make me push you off me, now," he said, mock-threateningly.

Sarah laughed and pulled away, tears in her eyes. Then she punched him in the arm. Frank just gave her a shit-eating grin.

"Why are you back here?" she asked him. At the same time, David asked, "Where have you been?"

Frank looked between the two of them, and his mouth puckered. "I should have called or somethin'. I, uh . . . I'm sorry."

David nodded, and Sarah beckoned him into their house. "You must be freezing out there," she said.

Frank shed his coat and David started to take it from him to hang up. As he did so, Frank gave him an odd look. "Thanks," he said gruffly.

David rolled his eyes. "This special treatment is a one-time thing, don't worry."

"Oh, okay, good," Frank joked. "I wouldn't want things to be weird between us."

David barked out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair, nodding. "Yeah, no. We wouldn't want that. Not when it's been only smooth sailing thus far, right?"

Sarah cocked an eyebrow at him. "Boys, if you start fighting I'm gonna make both of you sleep on the couch."

"Sounds comfy," Frank said, and winked at David.

Now, normally this kind of behaviour from Frank would have simply been funny or annoying, depending on what kind of day it was. But now that they weren't fugitives hiding out together in a dark, damp shithole with nothing to do but fight with one another, the comment and accompanying wink hit David in an entirely unexpected way.

Frank was 100% not flirting with him. David knew this. It was a throwaway comment made to get a rise out of him. But between his and Sarah's previous activities on the couch and the flood of relief he felt at seeing Frank again, the words got a whole other kind of rise out of David.

Frank had already turned away to tell Sarah she had done a wonderful job repainting the living room, so David took the opportunity to go into the kitchen. Once out of sight, he braced himself against the counter and did his best to think of sad, awful things to get rid of his buzzed and confused arousal.

Naturally, his mind went to the time he spent in the self-made bunker of his, watching his family go through the grieving process over him and stitching their life back together. He thought of the time Zach asked Frank to kill him because he was so depressed and angry all the time and had no way to let it out. He remembered watching, helplessly, as Sarah kissed Frank right here, in their kitchen, and Frank had kissed her back even though he knew David could see them.

This last memory didn't help, though. In fact, his dick twitched in interest. David looked down at his pants, surprised at his own reaction. He replayed the moment again in his head: Sarah stepping forward and leaning up to catch Frank's lips with her own. And Frank allowing it, testing the waters before remembering whose wife it was and stopping what was happening before it was too late.

There it was again. His dick hardened and strained against the rough fabric of his jeans.

"What the _fuck_ ," David hissed beneath his breath. He glared down at the bulge in his pants for betraying him like this.

And then he remembered a thought he'd had, later that night, when he'd been drunk out of his mind and Frank had returned from kissing his wife.

He remembered staring at Frank's lips and thinking _I could take it back. I could take back Sarah's kiss. It should have been for me. I would be able to taste her mouth again._

But he hadn't had the balls to attempt it. A secondhand kiss through Frank Castle would have gotten him a punch to the face. Even as hammered as he'd been, he knew better than to do something that stupid.

However . . . he _had_ dropped trow and shown off his dick to the vigilante. The thought made David's face burn, and the embarassment managed to quell the tent in his jeans somewhat.

"David? Sweetie?" Sarah poked her head around the corner. "What are you doing, babe?"

David pursed his lips. "I . . . I just need a minute. I'll be right back, okay?"

She frowned at him, and made to turn away when she saw it. Her eyebrow quirked up as she took in the sight of him, his face bright red while he was painfully erect and bowed over the kitchen counter.

 _Are you okay?_ she mouthed at him.

He gave her a thumbs up. _Oh yeah, just great._

She furrowed her brow at his sarcastic response but disappeared back into the living room. David breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that she hadn't pressed him for an explanation. He could always blame it on the wine, he thought.

"Did I come at a bad time?" he heard Frank ask.

"No, no," Sarah said. "He's just had a bit of wine tonight and I think it's getting to him."

Yes, David thought. Thank god for his wife. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to explain this in a million years. _Sorry, Frank. I've got a raging boner right now because you showed up when my wife and I were about to bang, and the thought of you two kissing made it worse._ He didn't think that would go over too well.

"Okay, suck it up, Lieberman," he told himself quietly, and straightened. He could do this. He could catch up with his friend, the man he owed his life to, and question these awkward and confusing feelings of his at another time.

He went over to the sink and ran the water as cold as it would go. He poured himself a glass and splashed some on his face to reduce the redness. Then he drank the water, counted to ten, and thought about wrinkly old women and taxes.

The moment he was only sporting a partial, he took a deep breath and called to the other two. "Do either of you want anything to eat? We've got a couple sandwiches in the fridge."

"I'm good, sweetie," Sarah called back.

"Yeah, I'll take one actually. Thanks," Frank said.

David nodded to himself and opened the fridge to take out the plate of sandwiches he had made for them for lunch. There were three left. He considered them for a moment before grabbing the whole plate and closing the fridge door.

Frank was standing in the doorway. David jumped and almost dropped the plate. Frank gave him a look.

"You okay, man?" he asked. His eyes were trained on David like the other man might bolt if he looked away for one second. David had forgotten how unnerving that habit of his was.

David composed himself and held the plate out to the other man. "Sure. Here, we've got turkey and corned beef. Take your pick."

Frank took the plate from him, just to turn aside and rest it on the counter. He folded his arms in front of his chest. "What's wrong?" he asked.

David shook his head. "N-nothing. Nothing. Nothing is wrong."

He could hear how it sounded, and Frank knew it was a lie too, but he set his jaw and looked at David for a few seconds more before picking up one of the corned beef sandwiches and taking a huge bite. Only then did he break eye contact and turn away.

With a sigh, David followed him back out into the living room and sat down next to Sarah on the couch. She rested a hand on his thigh but he was too rattled to be aroused now. He smiled at her and concentrated on other things. They took turns telling Frank about their lives while he'd been away. Zach's grades were better and he was getting along with the other kids in his class now. Leo had joined a lacrosse team. David had found a new job of a less covert nature, and Sarah got a promotion. They asked him about what he'd been doing too, and he told them in very few words.

"I got a place in the Bronx," he said. "It's not great, but it's something. Got a new job, too. Construction, nothing fancy. Pays the bills and keeps me busy."

David nodded. Sarah bit her lip. "Have you been taking care of yourself?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am." He cracked a smile at her concern for his wellbeing.

"You're not back here to start killing people again, are you Frank?" David asked. He flicked his eyes up at Frank, who put down the sandwich to return his look.

"No," he said. And David believed him. But there was something else he wasn't saying.

"We have all sorts of crusaders now, bloodying up gang members and thieves," Sarah said, a mite awkwardly. "So you don't have to worry about all that."

One of Frank's fingers twitched.

"You aren't killing people," David pressed onward. "But you're still out there, aren't you? You're still, what? Beating them to a pulp and leaving them for the police?"

Frank swallowed. "It's more like I put the fear of god in them."

"Jesus, Frank." David stood up. "There are others out there, protecting the good citizens of New York. Okay? You don't have to put yourself at risk like that anymore."

"I'm not gonna get caught," Frank said. "I'm not stupid, Lieberman. And if those other guys could get the same results that I do, maybe I would be content to do what you do and keep my head down, but they can't."

"You were given a chance, Frank. Why can't you just take it? Before something happens again?"

"Like what?" Frank asked him, raising his voice. He was in David's face now and David leaned back a little. "What else can they take from me, huh?"

David looked him in the eye and shook his head. He'd fucked this up, and he knew it.

"Shit," he said. "I'm sorry, Frank. Look . . . just forget I said anything."

The last thing he wanted was for Frank to take off again. He put up his hands in a sign of surrender and gestured to the couch. "Come on, man, sit with us."

Frank clenched his jaw and broke his gaze. He stood there for a little while longer, before seemingly making up his mind and taking a seat. He was hunched forward with his hands in his lap, taking deep, pissed-off breaths.

"I'm sorry," David said again.

Frank nodded once. Sarah's hand fluttered to his back and she moved it in slow, soothing circles. Frank flinched, then relaxed into the touch and closed his eyes. Slowly, his breathing evened out and he stopped swaying.

David watched in rapt fascination. A smidge of jealousy was wrapped up in a few other emotions as his wife rubbed the Punisher's back. He rubbed his beard with one hand and dug his nails into his thigh with the other, determined not to let this get to him.

Frank leaned back and Sarah pulled her hand away. David licked his lips and grabbed the bottle of wine to pour himself another - very generous - glass.

"Want a drink?" he asked both of them. Sarah nodded. Frank grunted. He refilled Sarah's cup and then got up to grab a new one for Frank.

"Thanks," Frank muttered when he handed it to him.

"Cheers," said David, clinking his glass against Frank's.

"To Frank," Sarah said with a shy smile, and clinked hers to Frank's and then to David's.

"To Frank."

They drank. And they drank some more. Soon, the tension lifted and they were back to chatting and laughing.

After a little while, Sarah started dipping her head and 'resting her eyes,' as she put it. Neither man was fooled, and David tried to send her up to bed.

"Not without you," she cooed at him, and he lifted his eyebrows. She could get a little, well, brazen when she was drunk. And she was definitely drunk at this point.

"And what about Frank?" she said. For a split second, David's heart stopped. Then he realized she wasn't suggesting what he thought she was suggesting. "I can't leave Frank," she continued. "He just got back."

"Frank will stay," David assured her. Then he looked over his shoulder at Frank. "You will, won't you? Stay?"

Frank just nodded, the hint of a smile lifting the corner of his lips.

"Okaaaay," Sarah groaned. "But you better still be here in the morning or, or, I'll kick your ass."

David chuckled and steered her up the stairs.

"You'd better do as she says," he told Frank, and gave him one last, meaningful look from the staircase.

"Don't worry," Frank said, all serious now. "I will. I promise."

David gave him a half-smile and went up to bed with his wife. He was still worried that Frank would be gone come morning, but what could he do?

He closed his bedroom door and stripped down to his boxers. Sarah struggled with her pants and he went over to help her, then tugged her shirt over her head. He felt a little glimmer of regret at not being able to have sex after all. She was too drunk now and too tired. But he figured he could at least rub one out before drifting off himself.

Sarah did wriggle up close to him when they got under the covers and ghost a hand over his cock, but he put his hand over hers before she could go any further.

"Frank might hear," he whispered.

Sarah hummed. "I thought maybe you'd like that."

He went still. "What?"

She moved her hand away and closed her eyes. "I saw you in the kitchen, remember? All hot and bothered after he winked at you? And I know it still bothers you that I kissed him. Maybe . . . maybe you were thinking about a little revenge?"

David was speechless. She saw right through him, as usual.

"Good night," she whispered.

He struggled to find the right words. "I'm not gonna lie. I hadn't had sex for a year. So maybe I did have some . . . confusing thoughts about Frank after we spent some time together. And yes, some of that was probably because of the kiss. My only contact with you guys was through him. I clung to the times he would go and see you. I could imagine that I was there, not him.

"I don't know when it got so messed up, Sarah. I've never liked men before. Not really. But I don't know. He's different I guess. We went through so much _shit_ together."

Sarah was a little more awake now. She was looking at him intently, like she was trying to figure out a puzzle. He opened his mouth to apologize and ask her to forget it when she spoke.

"I . . . _like_ . . . that you like him," she said uncertainly. "And, um, I kind of like him too."

David blinked. "What are you saying?"

Sarah yawned and snuggled closer to him.

"I'm saying I think we should seduce the Punisher."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So I'm glad people are enjoying this. I have a few chapters in rough draft so I'll be uploading them fairly quickly :)
> 
> This one turned out much fluffier than expected, but also weirdly angsty at the same time? But, honestly, that's kind of fitting I think.

Frank woke up early to the sound of two people fucking. 

For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was. Then he opened his eyes and saw the empty wine glasses from the night before, and the pictures of the Lieberman family on the mantelpiece. 

"Oh, Jesus," he laughed. He was listening to David and Sarah. And from the sound of it, they were going at it like rabbits. If they thought being in the shower would cover up the sounds of their moans, they were damn well mistaken. 

He shook his head. _Good job, Lieberman_ , he thought with a wry, indulgent smile. 

Looking down at his phone, he figured he could sleep for another half hour or so, so he shut his eyes and tried his best to ignore the sounds of the couple upstairs. 

It didn't work. 

"Fuck me, is their shower right above my head?" he swore, glaring up at the ceiling. The ceiling did not answer him, but he felt his guess was more or less accurate. 

He supposed it wasn't entirely their fault. They probably didn't know he was a light sleeper. And they probably didn't know how loud they were being, either. Or maybe they thought they could cut loose now the kids were out of the house. Maybe they had forgotten about him entirely. 

In either case, it wasn't like he could do anything to stop them. So he laid back and tried to at least rest his still-tired eyes. 

Except . . . the sounds were so distracting. At first, he started to imagine all the times he and Maria had sex in the shower. It had always been the best way to start the morning together. The carnal memory of his wife, paired with the sounds of a real live woman moaning and gasping above him, made his dick harden. 

He couldn't help but picture _them_ though. Instead of Maria and him, he now imagined the positions that Sarah and David were in at that moment. In his mind, Sarah was bent over, her hands splayed against the tiles of the shower wall. David was ramming into her from behind, tugging at her hair and using his free hand to rub her clit. 

It was just a second, but the image was burned into his brain. Every time he switched back to thinking of Maria, it would flash across his vision. He groaned. He was fully turned on now, but he didn't dare touch himself. Not on the Lieberman's couch while he could hear them fucking. It was too weird. 

He rolled his hips as his fingers curled into fists. Frustration was building inside him. He had to do something. 

Just then, the groaning stopped. Less than a minute later, the water turned off. Frank bunched the blankets around his waist and waited for his dick to soften. It took a few minutes, but at least the live show wasn't still tormenting him. When he heard tentative footsteps on the stairs he made sure to close his eyes and breathe deeply, as though he were still asleep. It wouldn't do well for them to think he had overheard their happy shower time. 

"See? I told you he wouldn't be able to hear us," David whispered from the top of the stairs. 

"Oh well," Sarah whispered back. 

Frank's breathing caught. _Oh well?_ What did that mean? 

The footsteps retreated back down the upstairs hallway, but he caught David's response before their voices faded. 

"I'm just not sure about this plan. What if he . . ." 

He couldn't catch the rest, but he sat up. What the fuck had they been talking about? They had some kind of plan that involved letting him hear them fucking in the shower? It took a lot to catch Frank Castle off guard, but this definitely counted as a lot. 

He took a deep, steadying breath and tried to think it through. He probably just misunderstood. They must have been talking about something else. Maybe after the shower they had been having a discussion about something, maybe even an argument. And David had just been worried that they would wake up Frank. 

He let out a sigh. Yeah, that must be it. 

"Christ, I need to get laid," he muttered. Jumping to conclusions like that was dangerous. He would need to be more careful in the future. 

The problem was, he just didn't know how to move on after Maria. His family had been killed. In front of him. That guilt, that loss . . . it was going to haunt him forever. But he knew that other people moved on from that kind of trauma. They did it every day. And maybe they did have to work at it, but how long was it supposed to take? In a way, he wasn't even sure if he should move on. It felt disrespectful to his family's memory. Like he was replacing them. If he let himself forget, let himself heal, then what piece of them did he have left? 

He grunted and got up off the couch. He cleared away the cups and bottles littered about the coffee table and brought them into the kitchen. As he placed them in the dishwasher, he thought about Karen Page. There had been something between them, he just didn't know what. Maybe it didn't have a name. But that connection could never go anywhere. He was too liable of putting her in danger. Even she was the first woman he had considered in a romantic fashion after his wife's death. 

God. He had to stop thinking about this. 

With steely determination, he finished loading their dishwasher and turned it on, then started a pot of coffee. David came downstairs first a few minutes later. He sniffed at the air and grinned. "Aw, you made coffee? That's awesome, man, thanks." 

He pulled down a mug from the cupboard and then cocked his head to one side. "Did you also do the dishes? Shit, you're quite possibly the best house guest we've ever had. Who would'a guessed it?" 

Frank just smiled. David got a mug for him too. 

"Just black, right?" he asked. 

Frank fixed him with a semi-impressed look. "Damn, you remember that kinda thing?" 

David shrugged. "It was only a few months ago. And honestly, I remember just about everything from that time. Though, some of the days do blur together." 

"Huh. Guess that makes sense." 

David paused in his preparation and looked at Frank. His eyes traveled from his feet to his face, then stayed there for a minute. His eyes were insanely blue. But Frank couldn't tell what he was thinking. David broke the stare and went back to making their coffee. He stirred his own, licked the spoon, and handed Frank one of the mugs. 

"What's up with you?" Frank asked him. 

"Hmm," David said. "Yeah, uh." Then he stalled by taking a long drink of his coffee. "I don't know. Things have been weird lately. That's alll." 

Frank frowned. "Like, with you and Sarah?" 

"Oh, god, no, nothing like that," David said. "No, it's just personal stuff. Working on me right now. Sarah is my rock. Seriously, dude. She is so incredibly cool. You have no idea." 

He was struggling to hold back a grin and failing. Frank took a drink of his own cup, enjoying both the dark roast and David's personality. He sure had missed the guy while he'd been away. 

"That's great, David. Really." 

David had a little flush in his cheeks. It could have had something to do with whatever he was talking about with the personal issues and Sarah, but Frank wasn't about to pry. 

"So why are you in town?" David asked, visibly working past what he was blushing over.

"Oh, come on now, let's not get into this again," Frank said. 

"Not attacking or accusing here, just checking in with you. Things are . . . good? I know you want to keep people safe and I won't ask for any details about how you've been going about that, but I do worry about you." 

"We both do." It was Sarah, entering the kitchen. David handed her the cup that Frank hadn't even noticed he'd made for her. 

"Frank made it," he told her. 

She beamed at him and thanked him as she took a sip. 

"No worries," he said. "And you two don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself, believe it or not." 

"Physically, maybe," David muttered. 

"What happened to not attacking or accusing?" 

David at least had the decency to look sheepish. Frank smoothed a hand over his chin, which was itchy with stubble this morning. 

"Do you maybe have a razor I could borrow?" he asked. 

David shot a glance towards his wife, who looked away, and then nodded. "Uh, yeah. That'll be in the upstairs bathroom, under the sink. Whole container of them. Feel free to take a shower too, if you want." 

Frank agreed he probably did need a shower. 

"Towels are in the closet to the left of the bathroom," Sarah called after him as he headed up the stairs. 

He grabbed one of the towels, locked the bathroom door behind him, and got one of the razors David had mentioned. Then he stripped and got in the shower. 

It didn't take him long to realize this was the shower they had just been in. Which didn't make much sense, since he knew they had a personal bathroom attached to their bedroom. But the bottom of the tub was still wet, and the water that came out of the showerhead was immediately warm. He also noticed that the shampoo bottles and other accoutrements had been moved to one side. Possibly so that a certain someone didn't knock them over as she was being fucked. 

He ignored this, and went to work. The image he had conjured up earlier flashed through his mind again, but he ignored that too. He washed his hair, then borrowed a small amount of some 'mountain fresh' body wash. He did not think about Sarah's moans. He didn't think about David's either. Definitely not. 

It would be weird. Very weird. He would not think about it. 

Then again, he reasoned with himself, wouldn't it be better to jerk off now than to go through the rest of the day feeling sexually frustrated? He could get it out of his system now. He just had to not think about the married couple doing it in this very spot less than twenty minutes ago. 

He reached a tentative hand down and tugged lazily at his cock. Even though it wasn't fully hard yet, his balls were aching in a familar way. He wasn't even sure when the last time he had done this was. Sometimes it was all too much, remembering Maria, and he couldn't get off. 

Today, however, he was pretty sure he could. 

He took the full length in hand and fisted it gently, then a little harder. 

"Oh, goddamn," he murmured. It had been too long, that was certain. He stroked a little faster, and if that damn image came into his head again, unbidden, well, he ignored it. He only let himself think of the physical sensation, the here and now of his own hand around his cock. 

And it was almost enough. He thumbed the head, bucking his hips into his fist - he was so damn sensitive. It really had been a long time. And he kept going at an erratic pace, bucking into his hand wildly now. He could feel his body tense up as he neared the edge, and he grunted, trying to get the pace right to - 

"Frank?" It was David, knocking gently on the door. 

"Shit," Frank said. He almost let himself keep going. He was sure he could be quiet. David would never have to know. But Frank would know. And he would feel guilty, knowing that he had let himself come to the sound of his friend's voice. His straight, married friend. 

He thumped a hand against the wall. 

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice pained. 

"Sarah's making eggs and toast, do you want some?" 

He almost laughed. "Uh . . . Yes, please. That would be great." 

"Alright, cool," David said. Then he was gone again. 

He considered finishing what he started, but the water was getting cold now. He should have waited longer to get in, he thought. But there was nothing to be done now. He huffed out a deep sigh and pulled back the curtain to wrap a towel around his waist. He shaved and got dressed, and by the time he was done the ache in his balls had subsided. 

He went downstairs and found that breakfast was waiting for him, along with David and Sarah. David had also reheated the coffee Frank hadn't finished before. 

"The shave looks good," David said. "Though, don't get me wrong, the stubble was nice too." 

Frank brought a hand up to his face self-conciously. He wasn't used to getting compliments like that. 

He ate and listened as the two of them discussed their itinerary for the day. They had to go grocery shopping and David had an appointment with their bank at noon, and did he want to come along? 

He paused, with a mouth full of toast. He swallowed and washed it down with a sip of his coffee. 

"Come along?" 

"Yeah. Kids won't be back until tomorrow night. I guess we hadn't discussed it but we would really love it if you stayed another night. Unless you have other things to do."  


He really didn't. He had come up to the city a few days ago to take care of a guy who'd murdered a couple girls. Now that he was on his way back, and it was the weekend . . . 

"But don't you guys want me out of your hair?" he asked. "I mean, the kids are gone, right? You can be alone. How often does that happen?" 

Sarah shrugged. "We don't mind having you around. At all." 

"In fact," David added, "we'd really like to see more of you." 

Again, Frank picked up on something else in David's words. He just couldn't tell what it was. 

"If you're sure," Frank said, relenting. "Just let me know if you guys need some alone time though and I can go, no problem." 

"We'll be fine," Sarah assured him. 

_I bet you will_ , Frank thought. Since they were so willing to have sex while there was a guest in the house. 

They refused to let him help clean up, since he had already run a load of dishes and made the coffee, so he put on his shoes and waited for them to be done. 

They did the grocery shopping first. They weren't getting too much stuff, just some extra things for throughout the week, like snacks for the kid's lunches, some more milk and eggs and bread, and another bottle of wine since they'd polished off the last two the night before. It was extremely domestic. And Frank fucking loved it. It was relaxing. In fact, it felt as good as Sarah rubbing his back last night to calm him down. He hadn't felt this peaceful in a long, long time. 

Next, he and Sarah dropped David off at the bank and went in to a bookstore while they waited. She was looking for a few books. Apparently David's birthday was coming up in a few weeks and he really wanted some new novels. 

Frank was having a look around himself when Sarah came back with a few books in hand. 

"Can I ask you something?" she said quietly. She stepped close to him and looked around conspiratorially, as if she was worried someone might hear her. 

"Yeah, go for it," he told her. 

"It's kind of personal." 

He waited, and she took a deep breath. 

"Have you ever heard of polyamory?" 

Frank blinked. "I . . . yeah, I have. Why do you ask?" 

She pursed her lips together before continuing. "Well, David has been expressing a desire to include another person in our relationship." 

Frank balked at her. Was she suggesting what he thought she was suggesting? He opened his mouth to ask her but she cut him off before he could make a sound. 

"I was just wondering if you and your wife ever tried something like that. Like, do you think it could work without messing things up?" 

If he were a different person entirely, he might have facepalmed at his own idiocy. What was up with his brain today? He kept on jumping to these outlandish conclusions. How many of these incidents could he blame on his lack of sexual activity? 

"You know, Maria and I actually did do something like that once," he admitted. "We wanted to, uh, try new things let's say. We went to a swingers party that one of her friends was hosting. And . . ." 

He wasn't sure if he should continue. He supposed he didn't have to go into detail, but he didn't want to lie to her. And if he could help with hers and David's marriage then he felt he should be honest. They weren't the kinds of people to judge, anyways. 

"She and I went home with different people that night," he told her. "We met a couple that we really liked. So she . . . went home with the girl. And I went home with the guy." 

Sarah covered her mouth with one of her hands. "You're bisexual?" she asked. Interestingly enough, she looked ecstatic about it. He snorted and gave her a funny look. 

"I've never really called myself that, but . . . kind of, yeah," he said. "Are you guys thinking about finding a guy or a girl or . . . ?" 

"Guy," she said, nodding. "Definitely a guy." 

He smirked. "Oh, you're gonna have fun with that," he promised her. Sarah was blushing, and Frank felt like he was putting the pieces together now. This is likely what David had been talking about earlier. And what they hadn't wanted him to overhear this morning. 

"So," he said, wanting to take her attention off of him, "David is into men?" 

Sarah hesitated. "I don't think it's like that, exactly. I think it's more that this one guy has got him very curious and we both want to see where it goes." 

"Huh." Frank could see that about David. Like, the guy'd had no qualms about whipping his dick out to try and compare lengths with Frank when he was drunk that one time. And he was an intelligent, emotional man who carried no prejudice about that sort of thing. And this wasn't the 1950's. It was practically encouraged to experiment as much as you could these days. 

He and Sarah moved on to talking about a few different things, like the books he'd been looking at and the upcoming plans for David's birthday. Then they made their purchases and went to collect David. 

But Sarah's admission remained on his mind the entire drive back to their house. He hadn't told her about the one other time he and Maria had slept with other people. He had been going away again, and he'd told her about one of his buddies, and how hot he was. She had encouraged him to go for it if he needed to, and he encouraged her to do the same. He still remembered the feeling of the other soldier's warm mouth around his dick. It had been so different from being with Maria, or even from being with that other guy. 

He also thought about how Maria had been so accepting of him sleeping with someone who meant a lot to him. He thought about how she would be enouraging him now to seek out someone new, to move on from her memory and try to be happy. 

And if he was being perfectly honest with himself, which rarely happened, he was also thinking about David and Sarah. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say for this one. Just . . . I'm weirdly happy with how it turned out.
> 
> Please let me know what you think :)

 

Dinner that night was beauiful.  


Sarah had prepared a gorgeous meal of herb-crusted chicken, roasted potatoes and asparagus, and rice pilaf. They lit candles and opened the new bottle of wine, and toasted to Frank. He did not blush, but he did cough awkwardly, to their undisguised delight. Sarah plated the food with a broad smile on her face.  


"It smells great," Frank told her as he and David finished setting the table.  


"Thank you," she said, and he pulled out her chair for her.  


They talked about the latest events in the news. Frank expressed minimal interest in the goings-on of the usual suspects, though he perked up a little bit when Daredevil was mentioned. He didn't say anything, but made a few little noises here and there in the conversation.  


When the discussion turned to Frank's love life, he made some excuses and managed to turn it back on them and their marriage and how the kids were doing. He knew they could talk endlessly about Zach and Leo. David caught on to what he was doing and hinted at it, but didn't broach the topic of relationships again.  


After dinner, Sarah asked the boys if they wanted to sit down for a film. Frank would have rather gone to bed, but he didn't say so. Instead, he sat on the couch with them as they scrolled through Netflix in search of something to watch. Somehow, he realized, he had ended up between both of them.  


They finally settled on some sort of spy thriller he had never heard of before and put it on. He was quickly bored by it, and annoyed at the inaccuracies and impossible stunts. Instead, he allowed himself a few weak moments of distraction, highlighted by the body heat of the two people on either side of him.  


David's leg was touching his, and Sarah's arm was dangerously close to his hip. Both were completely unaware of their close proximity, but the heat and closeness was . . . doing things to him. He kept thinking about what Sarah had told him earlier. He couldn't get the idea of David fucking another guy out of his head. Then he thought about David _being_ fucked by another guy, and that was just as bad. And then he began cycling through all the ways Sarah herself would get involved. Kissing here, putting her hands there.  


He had to keep forcing himself to stop thinking about these things and focus on the movie so that he didn't end up sporting a boner and freaking both of them out. He couldn't even pretend the movie was to blame because it was quite possibly the least sexy movie in existence. The main character was a retired CIA agent who ended up getting caught up in a serial killer's machinations. Except the acting was terrible, there were no leading ladies, and the two men it focused on were old, unnattractive dudes.  


And besides, the image of David sucking his first dick while Sarah fingered herself was popping up, and that was far more entertaining.  


David's leg brushed along his as the other man shifted in his seat to make himself comfortable, and Frank almost jumped. He berated himself, but it did little to stop his body's reactions.  


Sarah moved her hand - to her own leg, thank goodness. But then her thumb started moving in slow circles. It reminded him of her back rub the night before. He could almost feel her hands on him. Then her hand moved to her neck, and she rubbed it a little, shutting her eyes as she did so and leaning into her own touch. She craned her neck sideways to get her hair out of the way and he caught the scent of her shampoo and perfume all at once.  


Frank swallowed.  


That's when David's hand brushed his shoulder. He hadn't even noticed David moving his arm to rest on the upper edge of the couch because he'd been so distracted by Sarah. But now David's hand was ever so slightly touching his shoulder, a barely-there touch that was already beginning to drive him crazy.  


Frank couldn't help it. He shivered, longing for more. More touching.  


As if David had heard his wish, the hand dropped onto the upper part of his back. Frank looked over at him as calmly as he was able, but David looked back at him so casually he felt certain this was all in his head.  


_He's just being a good friend_ , Frank thought. Maybe David was concerned that the poorly-shot violence in this movie was triggering him or giving him flashbacks.  


_How can I tell him that if he doesn't move his hand, I'm going to throw him down and fuck him until he screams without sounding weird?_  
Even thinking about actually doing something to the man was enough to make Frank bite his lip. His hands were already balled up fists, his knuckles white as he tried to regain his composure.  


This was bad. This was very very bad. He had to get out of here. Go to the bathroom maybe. Yes, that was good. That would work.  


"I'll be right back," he said.  


Sarah's hand dropped to his thigh before he could get up.  


"Frank," she said, her voice low and breathy. "There's something we wanted to run by you."  


He was praying she didn't notice the telltale bulge just inches away from her hand. Then David leaned closer, so close now that Frank could feel his breath on his neck.  


"Please don't hit me," he said with a nervous laugh.  


And before any of this could really process, David was climbing into his lap. In a distant part of his brain, Frank knew he could be reacting to this. After all, he was a trained soldier. He had faster reflexes than a cat for fuck's sake. And yet, the sight of David swinging one leg over his hip so that his groin was hovering just above his own was enough to make his dick go full flag.  


"I know you can make me stop if you want," David said, and leaned forward. One of his hands circled around to cup Frank's head, and then David was kissing him. Taken aback, Frank didn't move at first.  


Then everything clicked.  


With a rush of emotions he hadn't felt in forever, he brought his hands up to David's back and held him tight, nails digging into the other man's shoulder blades. David moaned into his mouth and it sent a stab of pleasure straight to Frank's dick. Frank kissed him back, hard and unrelenting. David opened his mouth in a gasp and Frank shoved his tongue in. The kiss turned sloppy and dirty so fast. Frank didn't even realize when Sarah started to unbuckle his pants until her hand was inside them and playing with the elastic of his boxers.  


He flinched, violently, and both of the other people on him paused.  


"Is this okay?" Sarah prompted.  


David's mouth left his and Frank leaned back, his eyes shut. He managed a nod, but they still waited to continue.  


"You were talking about me before, weren't you?" he asked her. He winced at the sound of his own voice. So vulnerable, so openly turned on by a few simple touches.  


"Yes," Sarah said.  


He nodded again. It all made sense now. But everything was happening so fast, and it all felt so good that he found himself a little overwhelmed. The last time he had touched someone like this . . .  


"Don't stop," he asked of them. "But could we go a little slower? It's . . . been a while."  


David started again, kissing at Frank's neck. "This is new for me," he said, and his voice was almost as raspy as Frank's. "I didn't mean to go so fast."  


"That's okay," Frank said. Even the sound of David's voice was turning him on more and more. He already sounded as undone as Frank did.  


Sarah's hand had slipped out of his pants, but she was still beside him. She pushed his shirt up and David leaned back to allow her to pull it over Frank's head. Frank held still, trying not to flinch again. But he was shaking a little, and the loss of control was hard for him to handle. And he knew what they were about to see.  


David had seen his scars before. Sarah hadn't. And yet, both of them shared a similar reaction. Sarah gasped a little. David bit his lower lip and made a low sound in his throat. Then their hands and lips descended on him.  


To their credit, they went slowly now. But it still verged on being too much for Frank. David latched onto his neck and started licking and nipping there, and he was incredibly close to one of Frank's old bullet wounds. Sarah's hands were on his chest and abs, tracing the lines and raised bumps of all his marks. Her lips traveled up his stomach and her teeth left marks of their own. Her tongue reached his nipple and he sucked in a breath. Seconds later, David's tongue was running over the bullet wound and the man moaned. Frank echoed him and the sound made Sarah's hands clench into him.  


"Oh, god, right there," Frank murmured. He was lost to the sensations now. He was beyond second-guessing this decision. He was beyond everything but the present. Nothing else mattered as far as he was concerned. Nothing but lips and hands and teeth and the grunts and whimpers and moans that were beginning to fill the room.  


He got more vocal as the kissing and touching intensified. Both David and Sarah loved it when he swore or told them that _that was it, right there_ or _yes, oh god, oh please_. So he tried saying their names.  


"Fuck yeah, David," he said emphatically. And then, "Yes, god, Sarah, yes."  


David moaned helplessly and rutted against Frank. He was sitting on top of Frank's lap now, and the two were rubbing against one another in an attempt to get more friction. Then Sarah stilled her husband with a touch. He whimpered softly but climbed off of Frank.  


Not knowing what she was about to do, Frank just watched her, not taking his eyes off her for a second. But out the corner of his eye, he could see David unzip his pants and put his hands on himself, and he wanted to turn away and watch but Sarah grabbed his own jeans and started to pull them down.  


She was also watching him, carefully, for any sign that this wasn't okay, that she should stop. Except that he only encouraged her with a nod and a lick of his lips and she grinned bashfully.  


"Say my name again, Frank," she commanded, and he did. Her head fell back but her hands kept moving. Up and down his thighs, close but not quite touching where he needed it most. Then she tipped her head back up, looked over to her husband, and dropped down to Frank's barely-clothed dick.  


He felt her warm breath hit the tip and he bucked a little. Then she put a hand on his hip and he knew that she needed him to stay still for this. He did as he was told, the good little soldier. His eyes fluttered shut.  


"No," Sarah said. "Open them. Watch me."  


Again, he did as he was told. A smile played at his lips at being told what to do by this woman, so beautiful and so breakable. But he was beginning to remember the good parts of being ordered around. He didn't have to worry. Sarah had this under control and she was going to take care of him.  


He nodded again and her fingers twitched against the bare skin of his thighs. Then the inches between her mouth and his straining cock were gone, and she was licking at him through his boxers. It was only more of the same, more teasing, but his body was on fire. Every nerve, every cell in his body was awake and alert, catching every bit of warmth and wetness coming into contact with his dick. But more than that, he was aware of his back rubbing against the couch, the denim of his jeans keeping his legs from spreading too much.  


He had a clear view of David, too, palming himself lightly. He looked as on edge as Frank, like he could almost come just from the sight of his wife sucking at Frank's still-clothed dick. And he couldn't help but think that David was always watching back then, always apart, and now he had his life back and could participate. It didn't seem right that he was still just watching.  


David caught his gaze and sucked in a breath, then clamped his lips shut. The two of them locked eyes as Sarah continued to work him, and he could see the muscles straining in David's face as he struggled not to lose control. Frank felt the sudden desire to make David lose control, to finally pay 'Micro' back for being so controlling, but also repay him for everything at the same time. Just then, Sarah sucked on the tip of his cock and a sound slipped from his throat - a low, needy _moan_. He was certain he'd never made that kind of noise before, but it was worth it to see David lose his cool and squeeze his eyes shut as his hand stopped moving. Frank recognized the look. David was desperately trying not to come.  


All of a sudden, Sarah removed her mouth and grabbed his boxers. Frank nodded and she coaxed both them and his jeans down until she was able to take them off. He swallowed thickly as he looked down. He was completely naked now, spread out and displayed before his two married friends, who both still wore their clothes.  


"Can he try?" Sarah asked.  


David's eyes went wide, but Frank was already nodding. "Hell yeah he can," he grunted.  


David looked at his wife, and a silent conversation seemed to pass between them. Uncertainty, encouragement, acceptance. And then David was kneeling between Frank's legs, looking scared but determined.  


"You don't have to," Frank told him. He didn't move a muscle. He wanted to wait, to see what David would do.  


"I want to," David said. He looked into Frank's eyes again as he said it. God, what was up with these two and their eye contact and silent confirmations? Not that Frank was really complaining. There was something about this that made him feel safe and wanted, and he hadn't let himself have those things for so long. _So long_ , damn it. He deserved to feel like a normal human being for fuck's sake.  


The first touch was unexpected. One of David's hands had snaked up to grab his, and their fingers intwined. The intimacy was a shock to Frank's system. It was odd, how Sarah and him could be kissing Frank or licking at his dick but _this shit_ was the stuff that got to him. He felt tears prick at his eyes and he hated how vulnerable he was when it came to the stuff that mattered.  


David squeezed his fingers, conveying all at once that he understood, that they weren't judging him, and they were here for him.  


"There we go, Frank," David murmured. He dipped his head and pressed gentle kisses to both of Frank's thighs. "That's it."  


"Watch what he's doing, Frank," Sarah said, gently. Frank hadn't even realized he'd let his eyes close, but he did as he was told and fixed his gaze on David.  


"God, you look beautiful," he told David, and he didn't even care if that was a weird thing to say. But the other man blushed furiously and continued kissing his way up. He bit at Frank's skin occasionally, making the ex-Marine jut his hips forward. The second time he did it, Sarah sat next to him and put her hand on his pelvic bone.  


Once he got to his dick, David paused. Frank squeezed his hand and David blushed again. Frank knew he'd never done this before and didn't quite know where to start, so he lifted his free hand to David's curls and sank his fingers in and tugged ever so gently. A question.  


David answered by squeezing Frank's hand again and opening his mouth at the same time. The edge of his lip and the tip of his tongue met the head of Frank's thick cock, then he sucked the first bit into his mouth and closed his pink lips around it. His beard brushed against Frank's balls.  


"Fuck yes," Frank said.  


The praise made David a little bolder, and he took more of Frank into his mouth. The wet heat of him, coupled with the long flat strokes of his tongue just about did it. He could already feel how close he was. He had withstood torture before. His ability for self-control was a trait he took great pride in. So why was he so lost to their touches, their voices, their eyes on him?  


"Shit," Frank said, hating that he had to admit this. "Shit, David, I'm so close."  


Sarah's other hand came up to her husband's shoulder, and David instinctively stopped. This time, Frank didn't grunt or moan, but made a keening sound and hissed through his teeth.  


"Easy, Frank," David said, rubbing the seated man's knee. His mouth was hovering over his crotch, but he waited for Sarah's instruction.  


Frank's self control was warring with impatience and frustration. The hand in David's hair tightened its grip and the smaller man gasped softly.  


"Frank," Sarah warned.  


He took a deep breath and counted to ten, then let go of David's hair and looked at her. Her pupils were blown and her lipstick was smudged. At some point, she had undone her shirt and started playing with her nipples.  


"I want to fuck you," she said. "And I think David does too."  


David leaned back and ran a hand over his mouth, like he couldn't believe his wife had just said what she had said. He kept his baby blues trained on a spot on the floor.  


"Do you?" Frank asked him. "Hey. Do you?"  


David doesn't look at him. But then he nods. "Uh . . . Fuck. Yeah. Yes, I do."  


Frank considers it. He hadn't had another man inside him before. He never thought he would. But the idea of it was more appealing now than it had ever been before.  


"Then I would like that very much," he said. The couple shared a look and laughed awkwardly at Frank's manners.  


"In that case," Sarah said, "we should move this upstairs, to the bedroom."  


So they did. David shucked off his own shirt and pants along the way and Sarah made short work of her skirt so that by the time they reached the top of the stairs Sarah was wearing only her open shirt and a pair of black lacy panties, while David was down to his briefs.  


David grabbed Sarah's wrist and pulled her towards him to kiss her hard, his hands tangling in her hair. She wrapped her arms around him and rocked against him, and they had to lean against the wall for support as they kissed. When David drew back he whispered sweet nothings in her ear and kissed her jaw and her neck.  


Frank looked away, the shared intimacy once again taking him aback. But Sarah put an arm out and held him firmly by the shoulder as her husband showered her with loving kisses.  


"We care about you, Frank," she said. "You know that, right?"  


He couldn't help but grin at her. "I'm getting that impression, ma'am."  


"Alright, Frankie," David said, gesturing down the hallway. "Let's get my monster cock inside you, huh?"  


Frank coughed. "Jesus, Lieberman."  


"That's what you'll be calling me when I'm through with you."  


Frank didn't care if that was technically blasphemous or not. He only cared about touching them and being touched by them. He was ready to lose himself now. These two . . . they would be his undoing. He knew it by the sway in Sarah's hips as she led both of them down the hall. He knew it by David's hand catching his own again. The world seemed to slow as he allowed himself to be brought into their bedroom and pushed down onto the bed. He didn't even wince as Sarah lashed his hands together with one of David's neckties. He could get loose if he wanted. But he didn't.  


"You're ours now," Sarah told him, and he agreed, breathlessly. "We aren't going to let you go. You're safe here."  


He wished he could have said that those words didn't get to him, that they were cheesy and stupid. But that would have been a lie. Sarah's soft-spoken promises and affection eased a knot in his chest that he hadn't known was there.  


"Go on," Sarah told David. Her husband moved easier now. Somewhere along the way, he'd gotten a vote of confidence in what he was doing. Or maybe he was simply putting on a brave face for Frank's benefit.  


Either way, he sank onto the bed between Frank's thighs once more, and put his mouth around the bigger man's dick again. Despite his inexperience, his tongue was doing interesting flicking motions and he sucked down as much as he could as one of his hands played with Frank's balls.  


Frank strained against the tie that kept his hands from roaming over David's hair. It bothered him, but stronger than the irritation was the sense of longing, which only served to get him fully stiff again.  


"David," Sarah said, and again that hot, eager mouth was pulled off him. David laughed softly at himself and Frank knew then how worried he must be about what was going to happen next.  


"I trust you," Frank said. He looked over at Sarah, too. "Both of you."  


David nodded, and the hand on Frank's hip stopped shaking. His fingers ran down over Frank's muscled thighs and back up. He licked his lips, breathing heavily, and he pushed one finger into Frank. The first knuckle sank in easy enough, and Frank made sure to relax as much as possible. Then David leaned over him to retrieve a bottle of lube from the sidetable. He took his other hand away briefly to drizzle some onto his fingers and then he was back in, pushing a little deeper but keeping up the slow pace.  


"I'm tough, David. I can take it. _Ughn_. I want to take it."  


David smirked and curled his fingers again, making Frank writhe against the sheets.  


"I think that must be your prostate, Frank."  


"You're an asshole."  


David hummed and curled his fingers again. Frank half grunted and half gasped at the sensation. It felt different, but _good_. He and Maria had never tried anything like this, and part of him now regretted that.  


"God, David . . ."  


"Yes?"  


Frank moaned and bucked, and this time Sarah didn't stop him. He glanced over at her and saw that her fingers had pushed her black panties to one side and were alternating between rubbing her clit and dipping inside her folds.  


"Yes, Frank?" David prompted, and smacked him lightly on the chest to bring his attention back to the two of them. The fingers inside him curled once more and Frank threw his head back against the pillows.  


" _Please_ ," he begged.  


David's free hand came up to cover his mouth as he considered the man literally begging him to fuck him. Frank imagined he could hear the other man's heartbeat pounding.  


"As you wish," David said, and lined up his cock against Frank's hole. The anticipation and rush of blood to his groin almost made Frank miss the reference the hacker had just made, but he had no time to comment on it because David was pushing his way into him.  


If the burn of David's fingers had bordered on pleasant, it was nothing compared to the stretch from his massive cock. Oh, it hurt, but Frank was good with pain. He could handle pain. Under the right cicumstances, he even liked a little pain. But that wasn't all he felt as David continued to bury himself inside of Frank. He felt throbbing heat, too, and an intimate closeness that wasn't quite like anything else he had ever felt before.  


It was different, being the one who was underneath and being pounded into. And David was pounding now. He had seen Frank's reaction, knew he could take it. And he was going to give it to him good.  


Or, that is, he would try his best, but it was really a matter of how long he could manage to hold on. Sweat beaded David's forehead and both his panting and the pace of his thrusts was erratic. He was close.  


Frank's hands may have been tied together, but he wasn't being held down. So he sat up suddenly and put his arms up and over David's head. This brought them close enough together that Frank was able to rub his dick against David's stomach. At one point, Frank caught David's neck and bit him sofly, making David's hips stutter. A cry was wrenched from his lips and then David was coming inside of him. Frank almost followed him over the edge at the feeling, but he wasn't quite close enough. Instead he rocked up against David, trying to get more of that blessed friction.  


David shuddered and bent his head down to tuck it under Frank's chin. He let out one more quiet little moan and then pulled out. He tried to stand on shaky legs and failed, sitting back down hard on the bed as his wife came over to take his place.  


"Hi, Frank," she said, smoothing his hair back. "God, you've been so good."  


"Hi," Frank said back, weakly.  


"Are you gonna continue to be a good boy for me, Frank?"  


"Yes, ma'am," he groaned, so hard he could die from it.  


She pushed him back down and kept one hand there to keep him from surging back up and taking control of the situation. He found himself flushing hard from thinking of how he had disobeyed her just now with David. And like she could read his mind she said, "No more slip-ups, you hear me?"  


He grunted in respone. From beside them, David snorted. Sarah gave him a look and he muttered, "Would you have to _punish_ him, Sarah?"  


Sarah shot him a glare, but Frank chuckled. "Shut up, David, or I'll have to punish you."  


David sucked in a breath. "Promises, promises, Frank."  


Frank winked at him, and then Sarah had all his attention. She'd slipped out of her underwear altogether now and sank down onto him without hesitation. She was already so wet there was no resistance, just a slick heat enveloping him all the way down. He supposed that if she was used to David's length, his own would be easy enough to take. Another man might have felt a little insecure about his abilities, but Frank knew what he working with and not only was the equipment impressive in its own right, but he knew how to use it. Or at least, he hoped he still did. It was like riding a bicycle, right?  


Sarah eased herself up and slammed back down, and he realized he didn't have much to worry about. She was in control here, and he was just along for the ride. So he helped as much as he could by lifting his hips to meet hers and lost himself to the physical sensations as much as to the emotions swirling about in his sex-addled brain.  


Sarah came first, but she kept driving down again and again until he joined her. She sat on top of him as they both came down, both of them shuddering and sighing. Then she climbed off of him and undid the tie around his hands.  


Once he was free, he sat up and took Sarah's face in his. He paused, with a sideways glance at David, who did nothing to stop him, and then he was kissing her deeply and sweetly. After a minute, David did scootch forwards and touched Frank's jaw. With a smile, Frank turned his head to kiss David too.  


He pulled away at last and bit his lip. Now that it was over, he didn't know what to do, or what to say. Beside him, David and Sarah were kissing each other now, and he was finally beginning to feel a little self-conscious. So he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and got up to go and retrieve his pants.  


David made a sound of protest and grabbed Frank's arm. Frank flinched, but didn't leave.  


"Stay," Sarah whispered.  


He turned around and looked at them. They looked so right together it hurt. The Lieberman family was whole now. They didn't need him anymore.  


That's what he told himself even as he sat back down and allowed himself this moment of weakness. He would be leaving the next day, after all. He could have this. Just this one night.  


Just one.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another smut-and-angst rollercoaster here, but I'm getting the impression that's exactly what you good people came here for. That and the bits of fluff in between.
> 
> This one's also a bit shorter, but I'm thinking of doing one more chapter after this. I have nothing planned as of yet and am open to suggestions if any of you have some :)

Another man's dick was pressed against David's ass and his wife's hand was on his waist. It was one of the best ways to wake up that David could possibly imagine.

One of Frank's arms was circled around him, too, he noticed. Not only that, but the hand that was attached to that arm was holding Sarah's other hand. The image was so sweet he didn't dare move for fear of waking them and disturbing the peaceful tableau.

He closed his eyes again and exhaled softly. Last night had been perfect. But how long would it last? He couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to be a one-time thing, that Frank was ready to disappear into the ether once more upon waking. Maybe this time they would truly never see him again.

A pang of sorrow stabbed through his gut at the thought and again he pushed out a breath. He'd better make the best of the time he had then, right?

He shifted and turned around while trying not to move too much. When he was facing Frank, he put out a hand and tucked it around the other man's side. Frank's breathing hitched and his eyes opened. He took in the sight of David and relaxed. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed and croaked, "Mornin'."

On the other side of David, Sarah stirred.

"Morning," David returned. Smiling, he leaned in close and pecked Frank on the lips.

"I'm still naked, aren't I?" Frank murmured.

"Yup. As am I."

David thought for a second that Frank would take advantage of that, and the notion sent a thrill through him. But then Frank moved away. He turned over and swung his legs over the side of the bed before getting to his feet.  


"Where are you going?" David asked with a frown.  


Frank didn't answer. Now David was truly concerned. He scrambled to get out of bed too. Sarah came to and looked around. "What's up?" she asked.  


"I don't know," was his response, and he grabbed a pair of boxers from his dresser and sped out into the hallway to bump into Frank's chest. He had retrieved his pants and was tugging them on with his shirt slung over his shoulder. When David ran into him he looked up in surprise.  


"David. Look, I can't stay any longer. I'm sorry."  


"I-I-I don't understand, Frank," David stammered. "D-did I do something wrong, or, uh, fuck. Just . . . just tell me why."  


"Hey, hey, calm down," Frank said. "You did nothing wrong. It's just my own shit. I should have sorted it out before I let this happen."  


"What? Look, Frank, just talk to me. Don't just take off again."  


Sarah was in the doorway of their bedroom now, taking it all in with a growing look of disappointment and guilt. She was speechless where David just couldn't shut up. That had always been his problem, his big mouth.  


"I'm sorry," Frank said.  


He shrugged on his shirt and turned away, towards the stairs. Towards the door. He was going to leave again. And this was no way to say goodbye. When had David's hands started shaking? Why did his chest _ache_?  


"Please!" he cried out, desperate for Frank to stop.  


And Frank did.  


"What?" he asked, without turning around.  


David took one step forward, then another when Frank didn't immediately bolt. He reached out and grabbed the back of Frank's shirt.  


"Don't do this to me again," he said. "Don't do this to us. Don't we deserve to know what's going on with you, why you feel the need to leave after everything?"  


Frank's shoulders were trembling.  


"Is it about Maria?" Sarah piped up, her voice strained.  


Frank turned to look at them. David had feared that Frank would be crying. He wasn't, but his eyes were red like he could start at any moment.  


"It's only been you two," he said. "Since her. Last night was the first time. I can't forget her. I can't allow myself to replace them. You two . . . you have your family. You're a whole little unit now. And I can be happy from a distance, knowing you all are safe. But I don't know how to balance my life with yours. I don't know if I can wedge myself into your safe little lives and pretend everything's going to be okay."  


The next words David bit out were like hard, cold iron.  


"You are our family, too. That's why you shouldn't leave."  


Frank opened his mouth but nothing came out. He was looking at David like he was everything he wanted and couldn't let himself want.  


"You want me to beg? I'll beg," David said. "You want me on my knees, you got it," And he knelt before Frank right there and then, for the second time in the past twenty-four hours.  


"Get up, you idiot," Frank said, rolling his eyes.  


"You don't have to stay forever, Frank." It was Sarah speaking now. "Just visit from time to time. Let us know you're alive. That you're okay. That's all we want."  


"Get up," Frank growled, swiping towards David.  


"We can be your home, Frank."  


This time, Frank's swing caught David. It caught him by the shirt and hoisted him to his feet. Before David could register what was happening, Frank had him against the wall with one hand held in a vice-like grip behind his back.  


Sarah gasped. _She can't help it_ , David thought. He couldn't blame her. Sometimes Frank could be a little scary. But this was what he wanted right now - to scare them. To convince them they didn't need him, and shouldn't even want him in their lives. The big dummy. It wasn't going to work.  


"I could hurt you," Frank hissed. He turned to Sarah. "I could snap your husband like a twig. I might not even mean to do it."  


But Sarah caught on quick. She was every bit as smart as her other half and she knew what Frank's game was here.  


"Frank," she said. Her voice was like cool water compared to the fire that was Frank Castle. "I know you're feeling guilty. Maybe even a little confused. Maybe we shouldn't have sprung what happened last night on you. But you can see things as we do, right? If David or I was going out every night and getting ourselves into trouble - "  


"I wouldn't let that happen." Frank snapped before he could stop himself. He was a smart man, too, and he knew right away that he'd stepped into Sarah's trap.  


"Exactly," she said.  


All three of them fell quiet in a three-part standoff. David struggled to control his breathing, so that Frank wouldn't be able to guess what was going through his head at that particularly incriminating moment. But then, he thought, that might be exactly what he wanted.  


"You know," said David, squirming in Frank's grip like he might try to break free any second. "Maybe I wouldn't mind being hurt. A little bit."  


Frank said nothing, but the dynamic of the situation shifted with his words. Frank pushed him harder against the wall, but David could tell he was still holding back. He wasn't tapping into his real strength. There was no way Frank would ever actually hurt him or anyone who didn't deserve it. He was so scared of letting that happen, though.  


David could feel Frank's breath against the back of his neck. It tickled, and he shivered. Frank's grip on his wrist tightened, and David couldn't help it. He moaned softly and pushed his hips back so his body rubbed against Frank's.  


"Oh, you like that, Lieberman?"  


Maybe later, David would appreciate his ability to seduce beautiful people like Sarah and Frank. It surprised even himself sometimes. But right now he was just happy that Frank was distracted. Maybe, just maybe . . . he could convince him to stay.  


"Mmhmm," David mumbled, a little nervously. He exaggerated another shiver to further entice the other man.  


Frank ran a hand up and down his thigh, and not gently either. David swallowed and tilted his head back. The thought that they were now putting on a little show for Sarah spurred him on, and he arched his neck to one side, invitingly.  


Frank took the bait without further provocation and sank his teeth into David's exposed skin. He heard Sarah's intake of breath, a whole other kind of gasp from before. Meanwhile, Frank licked and sucked and bit and let the hand that wasn't holding David's wrist roam under his shirt, lifting it so Sarah could see as he began to play with her husband's nipples.  


David wasn't even slightly acting now as he leaned into Frank's every bruising touch. He and Sarah often played a little rough, but this was a whole other level. And apparently, this was a _thing_ for him. His dick was already so hard he could feel a sticky bit of precome.  


Frank's hand traveled down and brushed over the tent in David's boxers. He must have felt the wet spot because he laughed, a low rumble of a laugh that made David's hips jerk, and he put his lips to David's ear.  


"You want me to make you scream, David?"  


And if a needy sob escaped his throat, well, who could blame him? Normally, he wasn't really one for dirty talk. But hearing Frank fucking Castle say something like that as he held you against a wall and rubbed your dick while your wife watched was, unsurprisingly, a massive turn-on.  


"I don't hear you," Frank said, and his hand encircled David's cock, which twitched at the contact. David whimpered out a yes.  


"That's better," Frank purred, and bit David's ear. "You really do like this, don't you? You like being ordered around. By your wife. By me. You want me to take you right here, against the wall, while your wife watches? And then maybe I'll fuck her too. Would you like that?"  


"Oh my god," David breathed. Moans were dragged from his throat with each lazy tug on his cock or scrape of nails up his thigh. Frank was rutting against him now, enjoying the power trip. He pulled away but wrenched David's arm up a little higher so he was well and truly pinned there. Then David heard the sound of a zipper being undone.  


"You want me? All of me?"  


David knew he was talking about two things at once. He was asking David if he really wanted this, this strange, three-part relationship with a vigilante. And at the same time, he was asking for consent. To fuck David. Right here, right now.  


"Yes," David bit out. "Fuck, yes, you scary beautiful man. Give me all of you. I want you so bad."  


Apparently, dirty talk had a marked effect on Frank too, because he growled again and kissed David's shoulder and neck. Or maybe it was the nickname, the same phrase David had used when Frank was on the verge of dying in his arms all those months ago.  


Frank stalled for a moment. He rested his forehead against David's back and wrapped his arm around him. David looked over at Sarah, who was staring at them both with so much love in her eyes. He smiled at her and she smiled back.  


Then Frank pulled down his underwear, slowly. David's cock sprang free and he let out a gasp. Frank released his arm at the same time.  


"Put your hands against the wall," Frank ordered. David did. Frank gave him a reach-around with one hand, working David over steadily as the other hand slipped to his ass and gave it a firm squeeze.  


"You want this?" Frank asked again.  


"Yes. Fuck."  


Frank laughed, then spread David's cheeks. Despite himself, the smaller man shivered. He felt so on display already, and now this? It made him flush with embarassment, but at the same time, he felt so beautifully filthy.  


He felt one of Frank's thick digits probe at him experimentally. The finger was slick with saliva, but David hadn't even noticed Frank sucking on his own finger. The image made his dick twitch again in Frank's hand, and Frank hummed at the movement.  


"You like that?"  


"Uh-huh."  


"God, yeah, I bet you do. Look at you, so beautiful. So eager for me."  


David's face felt hot, and he was sure he was bright red.  


"Look at me," Frank commanded in his low rasping tones, and David turned his head. Frank leaned over his shoulder to kiss him, and as he did the finger at his entrance pushed into David. He gasped again and Frank slipped his tongue into David's open mouth.  


Okay, _now_ he felt dirty. But oh, it was so good.  


Frank's tongue explored his mouth as his finger explored other parts of David. And that other hand was still stroking his dick in slow, deliberate movements. David's body was on fire. Everything felt so good, even the slight burn of Frank's finger inside of him. He moaned and shook and began pushing himself backward onto Frank's hand to get more of the sensation. Frank obliged, and slipped a second finger in. David arched his back so much that he had to break the kiss, but that was okay. Frank went back to kissing his shoulders and the back of his neck.  


When Frank removed his fingers David whined at the loss.  


"Easy now," Frank chuckled. "We need to do this right. Where'd that lube go?"  


"No," David gasped. "No lube. I can take it, Frank."  


Frank's grip on him tightened. "Don't be stupid."  


"You can hurt me. I don't care. I want it."  


"Not with this, you don't. Sarah, can you go get some lube for your idiot husband?"  


Sarah went. David groaned but Frank's hand pulled at his hair and he cried out. The hand that had just been inside him squeezed his ass again at the same time.  


"I want this to be good for you, okay?" Frank said. "Do as I say and I promise I'll make you scream."  


Sarah returned with the lube just as David responded with an emphatic, "Yes, sir."  


"Fuck," she murmured.  


"You'll get your turn," Frank told her, and she honest to god licked her lips. Then David's view was obscured again as Frank pushed him back into place.  


"Keep still," he ordered.  


When the tip of Frank's dick lined up with David's hole, David almost chickened out. Frank might not have the length that David did, but he sure was a _girthy_ guy. Frank steadied him with one hand and waited.  


"Fuck me, Frank," David begged. And Frank pushed into him. He'd lubed up enough that the first slide of his dick was easy enough. It was thicker than his fingers but David was so turned on that the stretch wasn't nearly as painful as he thought it would be. Then Frank pulled out a little, slowly, and David hissed out a sharp breath. Frank immediately stopped.  


"You okay?"  


David breathed in, breathed out, and nodded. "I thought I told you to fuck me," he said.  


Frank grunted at the cheeky comment, but still didn't move.  


To prove to Frank he was okay with it, David pushed back against the other man so that he was fucking himself on Frank's erection. Frank groaned, and then he had David's hips in both hands and he was shoving into him with long, powerful thrusts. His muscled thighs slapped against David's scrawny ones, and David took it all.  


Frank bent him over further and suddenly he was hitting a spot inside David that made him shout.  


"I think that must be your prostate, David."  


David laughed but then cried out again, and again, and again. He had never been so vocal during sex in his life. But everything about this situation felt so damn perfect it was impossible not to totally and utterly succumb to it.  


"Fuck yes! Oh god, Frank, yes, fuck me harder," he found himself saying. And that was what did it. Frank was coming and David could feel it, the burst of hot semen filling him up, and then he was coming too, against Frank's hand, and the wall, and oh shit he was going to have to clean that up, wasn't he? His hand fluttered against the wall but then Frank grabbed it with his own as they rode out their climaxes.  


"Holy shit," Sarah said as the two men came down and Frank pulled out. Then, after a beat, "My turn?"  


Frank let out a sudden loud bark of a laugh. "Calm down, woman," he told her, putting up a hand. "I may be a trooper but I do need _some_ recovery time. God damn."  


Sarah just lifted her eyebrows and tossed her hair back. "Okay. Well, soldier, I'll be waiting." She turned and walked back into the bedroom without a backward glance.  
"Fucking hell," Frank muttered. He pointed to the bedroom with his chin. "She always that insatiable?"  


David smirked. "Uh, have you seen my dick? Of course she's insatiable. I've spoiled her."  


Frank laughed again, harder than before, and the mirth crinkled the corners of his eyes in a way that could only be described as 'cute as fuck.' And David didn't know how he did it, how he could be two totally different people sometimes. Maybe compartmentalizing was something that came with being a Marine. He decided not to dwell on it, though, and instead he laughed right along with him and enjoyed the easy post-coital moment.  


"Alright, come on," David said at last, making a shooing motion with both hands. "Get your ass up, Frank. When Sarah uses that tone, she means business."  


Frank shook his head in disbelief and ran a hand over his incredibly chiselled jaw. "How do you two do it?" he asked.  


"Do what?"  


"Do what," Frank repeated with a derisive snort. "Get under my skin like that? It doesn't even matter what I think I should do, because I just want to make you both happy."  


". . . Don't you ever want yourself to be happy, Frank?" David asked hesitantly.  


Frank considered the question with his head cocked to one side, like a puppy. "Sometimes. It's more like I want to want to be happy, but most of the time I can't even bring myself that far. But you guys . . . god, you're just too fucking pure. And I want that but I feel so muddy next to you. I don't want to muck up your perfect little life."  


David groaned in frustration. He was finally getting some heartfelt honesty out of this asshole and it still made him want to slap him.  


"Keeping us out of harm's way isn't going to change what happened to your family," he told Frank point-blank. "And we can handle ourselves. I'm not about to run after you into warehouses full of guys with guns. But we can help. In any way that we can. Even if that means a bowl of soup here and a mind-blowingly great threesome there."  


A laugh threatened to shatter Frank's chilly composure again, but he managed to stifle it. David put a hand out and looked Frank in the eye.  


"Now get in there and fuck my wife, okay?"  


"Fuck her real good!" Sarah shouted from the bedroom.  


"Aw, calm your tits!" Frank called back good-naturedly.  


The heart-to-heart moment was clearly over, so Frank ducked into the bedroom. "Took your sweet time, did you?" Sarah asked.  


"Just had to give your husband here a stern talking-to, ma'am," he said, climbing over her on the bed.  


"Good," she said, "he can be a bit of a brat."  


" _Hey_!"  


The next hour passed in much the same way as it had started. Frank issued orders to the two of them, watching intently as they fucked each other, stepping in himself here and there. David got the impression that he wanted to do some role reversal from the night before, that the way things had played out had left him feeling more vulnerable than ever and he felt the need to fix it.  


At one point, he loses his hard-earned self control though. David sees when it happens. David makes Sarah come, and Frank steps in to make her come again on his hand. Then he does the same to David. Once David has come for the second time that morning, Frank backs off. He mutters an apology, and they grab him. They pull him onto the bed, shower him wih kisses. Sarah's hand gets him off while David kisses at his neck, his cheeks, his jawline. He's apologizing again when he drifts off to sleep once more.  


On either side of him, Sarah and David look at each and a moment of understanding passes between them. This was far more than a way to spice things up for them. This was about keeping Frank safe. Keeping him sane.  


This was about family.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More angst! More smut! More domesticity! This one is also a little bit longer since it's going to be our last instalment. I wanted to wrap up a few loose ends and also show how well Frank could fit into this family role again. I just want him to have that second chance . . . and since I'm sure Marvel won't do it, I kind of had to. 
> 
> It's been a real treat. I hope everyone enjoys the finale. Spoiler: it goes out with a bang ;)

Two weeks later, Frank darkened their doorway again.

The kids were home today, and they practically squealed with excitement when they saw him. Leo attempted to tackle him with a bear hug that was surprisingly strong. Zach lunged in to join his sister, and Frank was laughing before he could stop himself. When they released him, he picked up Leo and gave her a twirl. He turned to Zach but the boy ducked under his arm and danced away. Frank feinted to one side like he was going to grab him and Zach backed off, grinning.

"Hey now!" David called, approaching from the hallway. "No play-fighting with Frank, you know how murder-y he gets."

"David!" Sarah chided. She was in the living room, vacuum in hand. Frank realized he was a little early and they must have been tidying up.

"You don't have to clean the place on my account," he told the woman of the house. She released the cleaning appliance to pull him into a hug and kiss him on the cheek.

"Who said it was for you?" she joked.

He smirked and held her eye contact until she looked away, blushing. Trumphant, he turned back to the kids.

"Has your mom been making you do chores all day?" he asked them.

Zach scoffed. "Of course she has. Gotta make it look spiffy for Uncle Frank."

Frank raised an eyebrow in Sarah's direction. _Uncle?_ Was that the best they could come up with? She shrugged apologetically.

David must have read their looks, because he cleared his throat and explained, "The kids started calling you that. Outta nowhere."

"Not around other people," Leo protested. "Then we just call him Uncle Pete."

Frank didn't say anything to that. They spoke to him around other people. He couldn't imagine what they possibly would have said, but the knowledge that he was a part of their lives, even when he tried not to be, stung.

_Guilty if I stay away, guilty if I come back_. How was one supposed to live with these kinds of decisions?

He had given the Lieberman family a heads up this time that he would be dropping by. Mere hours before, he'd been covered in the arterial spray of another man, someone who knew the whereabouts of a new flavour of killing machine prowling the city's streets. He hadn't even gotten a name out of the man before he'd given out, and Frank had been oh so careful not to bleed him dry, too. The failure to keep him alive and talking itched at him. So here he was, debating how to ask David for help with the information he had received before the man's untimely demise.

But between the kids smiling up at him and Sarah giving him a sly little look that spoke volumes, Frank was hit with another wave of guilt. This time, there was an additional hint of self-doubt and self-hatred, too. The usual cocktail.

_Coward. Monster. Liar._ How could he pretend to be making a friendly visit when he was only going to put them in danger again?

_You promised to keep them safe._

"Earth to Frank!" Zach laughed, punching him playfully on the arm. Frank flinched a bit too noticeably, and for a second he could have sworn he saw panic in the boy's eyes.

"Sorry, kid," he laughed. "Guess I was lost in thought for a second. I'm, uh, just gonna pop into the restroom. Be right back."

He took care not to go up the stairs too quickly. And yet, his paranoid eyes clocked David with his peripheral vision. The man was watching him go with a blank expression.

But then Frank was in the bathroom. He locked the door and sat down on the edge of the tub, clutching his knees with his hands and forcing himself to breathe in and out as slowly as he was able. Once his heartbeat had gone from full gallop to steady canter, he put his head in his hands and let out an exhausted, cheerless laugh.

"What are you doing, man?" he asked himself quietly.

He counted to a full minute before flushing the toilet and running the water in the sink for a few seconds. When he came out he saw David coming up the stairs.

"Hey, Frank," he said.

He was trying to look casual, and failing miserably. Frank knew he was scared. After the desperate way he had pleaded with Frank to stay the last time he was here, this tip-toeing came as no surprise. And good god, would this visit be nothing more than one massive guilt-trip? It was as if the universe itself was trying to rub Frank's nose in every single one of his messes all at once.

_This is what you do to people_ , said the voice at the back of his mind. _You're a goddamn shit-magnet. Biggest one there is._

If David had been planning on dancing around the issue or pretending everything was fine, his fine plans crumbled the second Frank's gaze met his. In seconds, his arms were encircling the bigger man and he was huffing little breaths into Frank's shirt, like he was drinking in his scent.

And Frank was struck with the thought that _he did not deserve this_.

"Stop it." David's voice was muffled from Frank's shirt, but he didn't remove his face from the other man's chest. "I can tell you're doing that thing again. Stop beating yourself up. Save it for the bad guys."

Frank let out a real laugh at that. "I am a bad guy, David."

And David's soft little fist thumped him on the back. Frank snorted and squeezed him in response.

"I hate when you read me like a fuckin' book like that, you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry," David said, pulling away to fix Frank with a glare. "Were you under the impression that you were being smooth just then? Staring off into space for a solid thirty seconds before running off to the bathroom isn't subtle, Frank. And remember, I did share that power plant basement with you for _weeks_."

"Alright, alright," Frank said. He couldn't help the damn grin that was taking over his face either. David looked pretty smug about that, too. Then he looked at Frank's chest. "You're still wearing your coat," he said flatly.

"Oh. Right," said Frank, and he unzipped it and shrugged it off. David took it from him without saying anything, and Frank thought about commenting on his 'special treatment,' then decided against it.

With a happy little laugh, David pushed him towards the stairs, and they went back down together.

The guilt had receded for now, and the kids were begging him to come outside and see the hole in the ground where the pool was going to be put in for the summer. Then Leo dragged him over to the garage to see her latest woodworking project, a bookshelf for her dad's office. It was going to be his birthday present, she explained.

"You've got some serious skills," he told her as he admired the shelf. She had added some extra pieces of unsanded wood, the bark giving it that 'rustic' look he saw in stores now.

She beamed at the praise before Zach asked - very politely, too - that Frank come help him with his homework. Leo told him it was fine, that she was going to go for a bike ride with her friend from down the street before her lacrosse practice. So Frank trailed after Zach and soon enough was going over some math problems that he was certain Zach knew how to do already. Not that he was complaining. The distraction was more than welcome.

The delicious smells of pasta and garlic bread started wafting his way, though, and he called into the kitchen to ask Sarah what she was cooking up. And yet it was David who popped his head out.

"Pasta is the one thing I'm really good at," he explained. "Well, that and my grandmother's borscht recipe. Got that down to a T as well."

Once dinner was ready and Leo was back from her bike ride and dressed in her lacrosse uniform, they all sat down to eat. Frank had to admit that David's pasta was surprisingly good, and the simple compliment had the man grinning from ear to ear for most of the meal.

As Frank ate, he listened to the family's conversation and, when he was asked something directly, he would supply a response as best as he was able. As David was talking about the drama between two of his coworkers at his new job, Sarah's foot slid up Frank's ankle, nudging past the spot where ankle and pant leg met to get at his bare skin. He jumped, causing the others to look over at him. The kids laughed and asked him if he was okay and he made a comment about getting a leg cramp. David's eyes narrowed like he suspected what was truly behind his sudden movement, but he continued his story.

Sarah's foot and ankle rolled up his calf muscle and he folded his fingers together, turning to fix Sarah with a raised eyebrow. She looked back at him, refusing to back down. She removed her leg from in between his and he relaxed, but only for a moment. A second later, her hand was on his thigh and it slowly inched inwards. He didn't jump this time, but he did grit his teeth.

With one hand, he scooped up another forkful of pasta. The other snaked down to catch Sarah's wrist. He gave a gentle squeeze and she withdrew the offending appendage, but the satisfied smirk on her lips only served to stoke the fire.

Frank took advantage of a lull in David's story to ask Sarah, "Have you ever been caught in the middle before?"

Sarah froze. The hint of a blush rose to her cheeks. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well David here was just talking about how it felt to be in the middle of work drama, and I was just wondering if you have any stories like that."

Mirroring her previous expression, he happily bit into the bit of pasta on his fork.

Sarah muttered that she couldn't remember and turned her attention back on her food. Across the table, David pursed his lips to keep from smiling, and he launched back into his story.

As Frank was helping clear up after dinner, Leo ran off to change into her uniform. Zach told his parents that he didn't want to go to the game with them, that he wanted to play an online game with his friends. They agreed, then asked Frank if he wanted to go with them instead.

"To Leo's lacrosse practice?" he asked.

Leo popped back in, now wearing a jersey and shorts, with socks halfway up her calves. Her face lit up as she heard Frank's question.

"Oh, please come, Frank! I'm getting a lot better!"

He was helpless against her hopeful little smile. "Yeah, sweetheart. Of course I'll come watch."

Leo cheered and went to the hallway to put her cleats on. Zach was already upstairs by the time Frank, David, and Sarah got their own coats and shoes on and bundled into the car. Frank called shotgun and got to the passenger side door before David could. Leo and Sarah laughed while David climbed into the seat behind Frank's, grumbling all the while.

The drive was short but sweet, as Leo told Frank about her classes and the new dance she was learning, and Frank asked her how she can keep up with all of that. She replied, in a no-nonsense tone, that they will look good on college applications, and Frank was floored. He had barely made it through high school for Christ's sake.

They were just on time for the game, and David and Sarah quickly ushered him over to a spot on the sidelines, where there was a long concrete bench for them to sit on. He didn't sit, though. Instead, he stood closer to the edge of the field and cheered Leo and her teammates on. Behind him, David and Sarah held hands and occasionally yelled something that was supportive, if not helpful. It was clear that neither of them really understood sports, but Frank could respect how much they encouraged their daughter to pursue her many hobbies.

He probably would have done the same, after all.

#

Back at the house, Sarah and David told Leo to get ready for bed and to "tell your brother to do the same."

From up the stairs, they could hear Zach complain at length to his friends before the sounds of sword-clashing and battle music switched off.

"How about I go light a fire?" David suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Frank asked. "It's way too cold out."

"Believe it or not, Frank, fire actually helps with that," David said, voice thick with sarcasm. The corner of Frank's mouth twitched up as he shook his head.

"Fuck me," he mutttered.

"Maybe later," David said with a wink.

That made Frank laugh. Then David was headed out back to get some wood for the fire pit.

"Want a beer?" Sarah asked him, already going to the fridge. He shrugged.

"Sure."

She tossed one at him and he caught it with one hand. She wiggled her eyebrows at his 'impressive' abilities and they smiled easily at one another. Sarah opened herself one as well.

"What, no wine tonight?" he teased her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not so boring that I'll drink the same thing every night."

He laughed. "No, course not. You, uh, you like to mix things up, don'tcha?" He let her interprete his meaning and watched as amusement and irritation warred in her.

She reached over and swatted him on the arm. "That reminds me!" she cried. "That comment at dinner was so evil of you! I can't _believe_ you."

He was trying to stop laughing, he really was. "Hey now," he said, lifting his hands in surrender. "You started it, ma'am. I don't know if you should be trying to come off as bein' all high and mighty."

"You be glad I'm in an easygoing mood today, Mister Castle," she growled at him, but then she too was laughing.

It was, naturally, the moment that David decided to make his reappearance and ruin the moment. Both of them glared at him, but he only looked to Frank. His mouth was a grim line, and he gestured for him to follow him back outside.

"Just need to talk to Frank alone for a minute, baby," he said to Sarah.

Frank slid past him and walked over to the fire pit where he immediately began to warm his hands. What was this going to be about? The other weekend? Their past history? Maybe David decided he didn't want a criminal near his children anymore.

He made that part of his brain shut up and he concentrated on the flames licking up at the dark of the night.

"Alright, Lieberman, spit it out. It's cold as balls out here."

Still, David hesitated. He edged closer to the fire and nodded to a dark corner of the backyard.

"Careful not to go too close to the hole for the pool," he warned Frank. "Not gonna lie, I almost fell in the other day. In broad daylight, too. No excuse."

He shook his head, and Frank's attention was dragged from the fire. The light played off of David's curls in a way that he would have described as beautiful had he been forced into honesty. And for once, David's eyes didn't look as blue. They were darker, and reflected the dancing reds and yellows of the fire.

Frank sucked in a breath, and held it as David parted his lips to speak.

"I know why you're here, Frank," David said.

Frank didn't let out that breath just yet. In fact, it caught in his throat and his whole body went still.

"I'll be honest. I've been keeping tabs on you. I know you're supposed to be the one who goes all crazy about keeping your loved ones safe, but -"

David kept talking, but Frank stopped listening for a few seconds because of what he had just said. Because had he meant it in that way? And if he had . . .

Shit.

Frank let out that breath in one huge go. There was too much going on here. With all of this. He opened his mouth to speak but David picked up on it quicker than he would have guessed and cut him off before he could say anything.

"Damn it, Frank, listen to me! I know you need information. I know that my sweet hacker skills are simply too incredible for you to pass up, okay?" He forced a laugh. "And I've been doing research on the guy. His gang is a rising threat throughout the city. So the answer's yes. Obviously. I've got your back, okay?"

Frank shook his head. "You can't decide just like that, David. You don't even know what it is you're signing up for."

"Except I do! And it wouldn't even matter anyways, because I owe you."

"Naw, man, not anymore. We're square."

But David shook his head. He bit back his next response though and tugged at his hair instead before pacing about in front of the fire pit.

"Fuck you, Frank! I said yes. End of discussion."

"Oh, am I grounded now?"

"Might as well be, because you don't get a say in the matter here. I've got you. Always. You hear me? Always. I'll say it until it gets through that thick skull of yours. I will always be here for you!"

"Alright!" Frank snapped at him. "I get it!"

"You'd better," David said. Except now his eyes were shining with something besides firelight.

"I won't let anything happen to my family, David," Frank promised. "Never again."

David squeezed his eyes shut at those words. Frank knew what he said. He wasn't about to take them back. But he was worried that David was going to start crying, so he grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Come on," he said. "Don't be a crybaby about it. I'm serious. I have a rifle in the van and I'm not afraid to use it."

David snorted and leaned in. He didn't go for a kiss. He just rested his forehead against Frank's.

He opened his mouth to say something, and Frank's heart skipped a beat.

Then the back door opened. Sarah stepped out, wrapping her arms around herself. She was watching them warily, like they might start yelling again.

"Hey," she said. Her voice was uncharacteristically quiet. "Are you - is everything okay?"

The two men shared a look. Frank nodded, first at David and then at Sarah. "Yeah," he said. "Everything is good."

"Good," she said, and strode forward until she could grab them by the arms and pull them both into a hug. The three of them stood that way for a little while. Sarah and David smelled of laundry detergent, shampoo, perfume and cologne. Frank knew he probably smelled of metal and dried sweat, but neither of them complained.

_"I know you're supposed to be the one who goes all crazy about keeping your loved ones safe."_

"Did you talk to him, David?"

"Yeah."

Frank pulled back and looked back and forth between them. Sarah was okay with this too . . . ?

She rolled her eyes at him for the second time that evening and rested her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around just him. Holding him tight. And again David's voice echoed in his head.

_"Loved ones."_

And Frank could have stepped away from her embrace. He could have left right there and then, figured his own shit out. He could have left them in peace, even if it hurt all of them. But he didn't.

Instead, he let out another breath, and he shuddered with it, and Sarah rubbed her hands up and down his arms as if it were the cold he was reacting to.  
How do you overcome a weakness that you don't want to give up?

The kids came out a little while later, dressed in their pajamas and hoodies. They both begged to be allowed to stay up just a little bit longer to hang out with Frank, and neither parent had the heart to say no.

David retrieved a few fold-out chairs to place around the fire, and they all sat and talked. Leo pointed out constellations and Zach slowly opened up about how school was going. Frank was four beers in before the kids started nodding off, and David finally took them up to bed.

Sarah took Frank's arm and they stumbled into the house together. She'd had a few mores beers as well and was clearly tipsy. Frank had a buzz too. He was at the pleasant point between being sober and sloshed where everything felt safe and fun and good.

They shut the door behind them and Sarah gave an exaggerated shiver.

"It's one cold spring, that's for sure," she said. "Can't wait for summer."

"I like this time of year," Frank protested. "Rainy days are kind of nice sometimes. The sound of the raindrops drumming on the roof . . . I dunno, it's just . . . soothing. Ya know what I mean?"

Sarah smiled at him. "I do. But I still hate the cold."

She sat him down at the table and looked him in the eye, propping her chin up with one hand. Her long, honey-coloured hair was hanging over her face, so Frank reached forward and brushed it back behind her ear. She let him, and a smile bloomed where before there was a serious line.

But her tone was still grave when she asked him, "How have you really been, Frank?"

He groaned good-naturedly. "Aw, come on. We doin' this now?"

"Yeah," she laughed, nodding. "We are. I need to check in with you. And there's something about two men being together that makes them feel like they can't really open up for some reason." She takes a sip of her beer. "I blame the patriarchy."

Frank runs his tongue along his lower lip and lets out a thoughtful little _hmph_.

"How 'bout that girl, Karen?" Sarah suggests. And he had to force himself not to react, because damn it if the Liebermans ain't fucking _psychic_ or something, the way they pick up on all his little mannerisms and unspoken feelings.

"Karen is good," he said, because she was. In both senses of the word. "I check up on her now and then. We get coffee. She patches me up. I'm sure David has told you all about her. What she means to me."

Sarah nodded. But she wasn't quite done with the well-meaning questioning, because she pressed onward. "He has. But I want to know if you are planning on doing anything about it."

He didn't look at her. He didn't know how.

"You guys jealous or something?"

She exhaled slowly. "No, Frank. How could we be jealous? David and I care about you, a lot. We want you the be happy, whatever that means for you. God, why else would we let you go out there and do what you do? If we aren't going to get in the way of that, we sure as hell aren't about to get in the way of you falling in love with someone else."

His throat constricted. There it was again. He couldn't help but wonder how long they had been thinking about bringing him into their life and into their bed. How long they'd been harbouring emotions for him that he never in a million years would have guessed at.

"I . . . haven't thought about letting myself do that," he told her. So honest it hurt. "Falling in love again." And he didn't even care if it hurt her to hear that, because he knew she would understand. They were both so damn understanding.

"Well maybe it's time," she said, and a silence stretched between them in which those words held the weight of everything he had been through in the past few years. There had been so much. Too much. Slowly losing Maria and the kids to the war, both the real one and the internal one affecting his mind and his heart. Losing the chance to ever heal things between them when they were taken from him. Going on a killing spree to get to the ones who did it and giving in to that internal war. Thinking he would never be able to come back from that, that his life was over and he wasn't Frank Castle anymore, he was the Punisher, and when he was done he would truly be dead and gone to the world.

And then. To have someone have hope for him again. First, it was Red. Then Karen. And Micro. Then Sarah and the kids. Even Madani.

_Can I deserve this? Can I deserve them?_

"What would happen to . . . this?" he asked her, gesturing between them. "If I allowed myself to feel what I feel for Karen, what then?"

"Frank, this will work until it doesn't, okay?" Sarah assured him. "Just like any relationship. Even if the three of us decided to stop sleeping together, we're still family. And we will always be here for you."

It was so similar to what David had said before. And yet, it was even softer. It sounded different in her gentle tone. She was so serious; he couldn't help but believe her.

"You guys are just too mushy, did you know that?" he joked.

"Oh, too mushy for your liking?" she teased him, leaning in. He could smell her perfume again, as well as the beer on her lips, and they were pink and wet and he let his own tongue lick his lip again without thinking about it.

"Way too mushy."

"Hmm," she said, and then her mouth was on his. He licked at the seam of her lips and she parted them willingly, letting his tongue slip inside. Their teeth clicked together and he growled into her mouth.

She moved off her chair to straddle his hips. Then she tugged his shirt up and slid her hand up his stomach. Her touch was light, but it was driving him wild, and he stood, pushing her up off of him and onto the table. He lowered himself so that he could access her neck with his lips. Her legs came up to wrap around him, and she gripped him tight with her thighs, letting out soft gasps and pants. Frank wrenched her own shirt up and she wriggled out of it. Then he reached underneath her to undo her bra clasp. She gasped again as her bra came off and exposed her breasts. He looked down at her, enjoying the sight, before he started kissing his way down from her collarbone to the swell of her breast, where he flicked his tongue out to play with the nipple. She groaned accordingly and he sucked it into his mouth, rolled it between his teeth. His hand drifted up to play with the other one and she lifted her hips up off the table.

A noise startled Frank and he shot his head up, worried it would be one of the kids. But it's David, leaning against the wall and staring at them. He was flushed and dark-eyed.

"Don't stop on my account," he said, his voice low and ragged.

And Frank could imagine the sight they made. Sarah laid out on the table, topless, while Frank stood in between her legs with his mouth and hand on her breasts. And he starts to get the idea that David really likes a good show.

He continued, but he made sure to look up at David every now and then. Every time he did, David had a different reaction. He swallowed, thickly enough that Frank could see his adam's apple bob up and down. Then averted his eyes and scratched his beard. And then he licked his lips as he looked Frank up and down.

Sarah knew what they were doing to her husband too, and she arched her back, moaning wantonly. Her legs gripped Frank tighter, closer, and she was rubbbing against his erection.

Frank removed his hand from her breast to let it roam south. His fingertips trailed her soft skin until it met the top of her jeans. That was when he undid the button and zipper, and his deft fingers ran lightly up and down the crotch of Sarah's panties. He went back to kissing her neck, and he was certain he was leaving marks, and at the same time he slipped a single finger past her underwear to dip inside her.

She cried out softly and he removed the finger, looking at her and then at David.

"Should we be doing this?" Frank asked uncertainly. "The kids could hear us."

The two shared another one of those inscrutable married looks. Frank just frowned before, at last, Sarah confessed.

"We _meant_ for you to hear us in the shower. It was part of our . . . 'master plan' as David called it."

"Yeah, normally the walls are actually quite soundproof," David added. "We had to try to be as loud as we possibly could without worrying our neighbours."

Frank was gobsmacked. He pulled away slightly from Sarah and ran a hand through his getting-longer-now hair. "Are you serious right now?" he asked the two of them.

David bared his teeth in an awkward grin.

"It worked out well enough, didn't it?" Sarah said, looking away.

And Frank burst out laughing. At them, at himself, and at the whole situation. "You really wanted to get me in the sack, didn't you?" he gasped out, then laughed again. The two of them were laughing with him now, and he was worried he'd killed the whole mood. But then Sarah told him to shut up and switched their positions so that Frank had to look over her shoulder at David. And David was watching the two of them, again. Waiting.

So Frank bit Sarah's neck and sucked on the skin there. She let out a surprised laugh and wrapped her legs around his waist once more, easing them closer so that they were touching in all the right places.

His hand returned to where he knew she wanted it most and this time he pushed two fingers into her. She let out another soft cry and curled her hands into the material of his shirt. Then, deciding she needed it gone altogether, she lifted it up. He took his hands away from her again to do as she wished.

"Mmm," she moaned into his ear. "Good boy."

He smiled and then she turned her head to bite his ear. "As you were," she said, and he put both fingers back to work.

Across the table from them, David had undone his own jeans and pulled them and his boxers down, just enough to freely start jerking himself off. Frank watched him do it and nodded his approval, which made David groan as loudly as his wife.

Frank moved himself and Sarah off the table and back onto the chair so that they both had a clear view of David. Sarah got what he was doing right away. She pulled his jeans and her underwear down and eased down onto Frank's cock.

David groaned again, and Frank remembered something that had gone extremely well the last time he'd tried it.

"You see this, David?" he asked. "You like what I'm doing to her?"

David grunted and nodded, fisting his own dick with slow precision.

"She likes it too," Frank murmured. "Don't you, Sarah?"

"God, yes."

Frank buried his face in her hair momentarily as he slammed his hips up into her and she let out another breathy moan and whimpered another 'yes.'

"You missed having me inside you, huh?" he asked her, repeating the same movement. She didn't answer this time, but David was breathing hard and clenching his jaw. "And I bet you do too, don't you David?" Frank asked him.

"Aw, fuck," was all that David managed. His cheeks were red, but he was very clearly into it.

"Yeah?" Frank encouraged him. "I bet you did. I missed fucking you. I want to fuck you even harder than last time. Wanna make you come so hard you see stars."

"Oh," David moaned. "Oh, god, Frank."

Frank slowed his pace, letting Sarah feel every inch of him as he slid in and out. She whined at the sensation, which was both too much and not enough. Her nails scratched lines down his back and he groaned.

"This, _ughn_ , this is a, uh, a new side of you, David," Sarah said, with great difficulty.

"Yeah?" he asked her, his hips matching their pace now. "We've still got it, baby."

Frank and Sarah both laughed at the comment, but then Sarah is moaning and trying to tell him something and he knows exactly what it is because he can feel it too.

"Attagirl," Frank murmured into Sarah's hair. He rocked into her as she clenched around him and then he was gone too. He marveled at how perfect their timing was, how in sync their bodies already were. She grasped his face with both hands and looked into his eyes as he came, like she would hold him to her forever, just like that. But it was Frank in that moment that was thinking that he could never let them go, that this was all he ever needed.

Then he looked back over at David, whose hand was still wrapped around his own dick. He was close, but not quite close enough. His eyes were shut now and his head was tilted back as he concentrated on the task before him.

That was when a beautiful idea struck Frank.

He pulled out of Sarah and gave her a deep, sweet kiss, then turned to her husband.

"David," he said. "Stop."

The command was so counterintuitive that David opened his eyes and he frowned at Frank in obvious confusion. But his hand didn't stop moving.

"Stop," Frank growled out again, irritated that he had to repeat himself. This time, Frank's tone stilled David's hand. David keened.

"Fine," he told him. "But I'm not happy about it."

But Frank was advancing towards him, and he looked back at him with a wide-eyed expression.

"I guess I'm just gonna have to make you happy again," Frank muttered, and he dropped to his knees.

David's jaw dropped at the position Frank had taken. "A-are you sure?" he stuttered. Frank placed his palms on David's thighs and let his nails sink in a little, making the soft, sensitive flesh dimple. And David moaned and his hands shot up to Frank's shoulders to steady himself.

"I'm fuckin' sure," Frank promised him, and put his mouth around David's cock.

Now, Frank Castle had never had another man's penis even remotely close to his face before. But he had received his fair number of blowjobs, and knew what felt good and what didn't. And he was determined to show Lieberman who was boss.

So he went to town. He sucked as much of it in as he possibly could without choking himself, and he pressed against it with his tongue. And if David's sounds were anything to go on, he wasn't doing half bad. He let go of David's thigh to reach up and jerk the shaft as he sucked on David's already-swollen tip.

Then David was tugging at his hair, urgently.

"Wait, Frank," he panted. "I'm really, really close. I'm gonna - "

But Frank slid his mouth closed around David's dick and moved it back and forth until David was coming. The warm liquid hit his tongue and Frank almost recoiled at the salty, bitter taste. But he forced himself to keep moving, and he swallowed it down with a little effort on his gag reflex's part.

Internally, he wondered at all the people who have ever swallowed after blowing him and he silently thanked them. He coughed a little to clear his throat and finally took his mouth off of David.

It was definitely worth it to see the blissed out look on David's face, though, he thought. Frank patted the side of David's thigh and the other man hummed contentedly.  
"I could get used to this," Sarah said from behind him, her tone light.

Frank chuckled. "Me too," he said. The surprise in his voice was accidental, and maybe it gave away how truthful he had just been. But he wasn't sure it really mattered at this point.  
  
#

Later, the three of them are lying in David and Sarah's bed. They all know that Frank should slip off to the couch soon, but none of them move for some time. Instead, they laugh and chat quietly. They touch, but it's casual now. Just a series of lazy, comforting bits of contact. Sarah smoothing back his hair, David tracing the moles on his arms, all of them playing footsie under the covers . . .

It's the most human Frank can remember feeling in ages. He can't stop smiling and he feels like an idiot for it, but it's out of his hands at this point. He has surrendered, laid down his arms, and accepted this for what it is.

_God, when did I turn into such a sap?_ he wonders. He can imagine Maria's reply: _You don't fool me_ , she would say. _I know you've always had a heart in there_.

But it's Sarah's smile he sees, and it's David's laugh he hears. And all he can think is that Maria would be happy for him, seeing them like this.

Maybe one day he'll be truly okay again. Or maybe this will only work for a while. But for once, he doesn't care. He's ready to see how it all plays out, and he's willing to allow himself to be happy for as long as it lasts.

So he gives in and lets out an easy sigh, and he smiles back at two people who gave him a reason to smile again.

And it's enough.


End file.
